Gary Neville thinks Manchester United will struggle to win the Premier League title this season because they don't play well enough as a team.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, who have lost three of their last four games in all competitions, dropped more points in Saturday's clash against Aston Villa after a late header from defender Kortney Hause sealed a deserved 1-0 win for the Villans.
United had the chance to equalise in the dying embers of the game at Old Trafford but Bruno Fernandes skied his penalty and the Reds were left to rue a number of missed chances.
In a segment of his Sky Sports podcast that was broadcast over the weekend, Neville says his former side must learn to play like a team if they are to challenge for the title alongside the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.
He said: "I said it even when they were winning, even when [Cristiano] Ronaldo scored, they don’t play well enough as a team to win this league in my view. They don’t play well enough as a team.
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"I think you have to be a unit in and out of possession, and when you only deliver in moments, those moments won’t go for you in certain games.
"You need patterns of play, you need a way of playing, and at this moment in time I still see a group of individuals playing in moments, with some patterns and combinations at times, but still a team where some are pretty new together – Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho – but they’ve got to come together as a team and start to define a style of play. Then you start to get results when you don’t play well.
"The way they are at the moment, they'll always have days like Saturday against Villa. They'll have patches of four or five games where they only win two, but then they'll go and win 15 on the bounce and be unbeaten away from home for a while.
"That's the type of team they are. I have called them the odd bunch, because I still look at them and think of them as a team who win games in moments.
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"I look at Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City, they are teams. They put team performances in. That's not to say United never do, but Ole now has to get United into a team."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, meanwhile, has remained postitive despite their recent run of form.
"We had started the season well until today," said the Norwegian after their 1-0 defeat to Villa. "It wasn’t good enough from us. But I know these players, and I know they will fight to put this right.
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"We have a Champions League game this week and we are looking forward to it. We didn’t start well but we will be fired up, the fans and the players, for that."
United will face Villarreal in what is a must-win Champions League clash on Wednesday night.
Thoughts on United's season so far? Is Neville right?
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Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Sky SportsTopics: Manchester United, Gary Neville, Premier League, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool
